Charities back UK workers saying nature must be at the heart of business decisions

• Charities unveil Nature’s Workforce, a unique resource designed to help employees encourage their business to become more nature friendly, backed by business leader and BBC Dragons’ Den star Deborah Meaden.  

• Polling finds 70% of UK employees likely to encourage their employer to take action to help nature. 

• 62% also said their employer should be doing more to tackle issues such as nature loss and climate change, yet 42% don't feel confident to start a conversation on the subject. 

Businesses have a critical role to play in tackling the nature and climate crisis, but only three in every 100 companies monitor nature and biodiversity risks [1]. To address this, WWF, the RSPB and the National Trust have today launched a new online guide designed to give workers at all businesses the confidence to take steps to make nature part of everyday decision making, from the factory floor to the boardroom. 

Nature's Workforce, the first resource of its kind designed to help employees call for nature-positive change at work, has been created as part of the charities' Save Our Wild Isles partnership.  Developed alongside employees and managers across a range of industries, Nature’s Workforce provides a suite of resources including a detailed step-by-step guide on how to start conversations at work on ways businesses can help bring nature back from the brink. 

A YouGov poll commissioned this month for the Save Our Wild Isles campaign revealed nearly two-thirds of employees (62%) think their employers should be doing more to tackle issues such as nature loss and climate change, with 70% saying they’d be likely to encourage their employer to take action to help nature.  

Over three-quarters (77%) of employees are also worried about the state of nature in the UK, rising to 82% in the 45-54 age group. Almost nine out of ten (89%) employees agreed that employers should consider the impact their business has on nature when making decisions.   

Businesses have a key role to play in helping to protect and restore nature, and the charities hope that Nature’s Workforce will press more firms into creating a nature positive world.  

Using Nature’s Workforce, people will discover how best to engage with their employer to make a meaningful difference. Change could come through embedding net zero into the company strategy or switching to a greener pension plan that funds habitat restoration. Supply chains could be improved by analysing transportation emissions, packaging waste and energy consumption at every stage. Businesses could choose to support community groups and local green spaces, either financially or through volunteering, or improve biodiversity on site through nature-friendly planting. 

The UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world [2] and one in six species is at risk of extinction from Great Britain [3]. Yet nature underpins our economy, with more than half (55%) of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) either moderately or highly dependent on nature [4]. The charities are calling on businesses to act now as issues including supply chain disruption, asset loss, increased costs and declining employee health will only get worse without a thriving natural world and healthy environment. 

Polling by the charities revealed that more than half of employees (52%) are confident that their employer can take positive action in the workplace to help tackle the decline in nature. Yet 42% of employees don't feel confident to have a conversation with their employer about what else the business could be doing to help protect nature in the UK.  

A number of UK businesses were involved in the development of the toolkit. Many have already adopted greener business practices, from saving paper and starting volunteering schemes to supporting community tree planting, and improving biodiversity in the workplace through nature-friendly grounds maintenance.

Fiona Ellis, Director and Co-Founder of Business Declares[5] – who was involved in the development of Nature’s Workforce says:

In a joint statement, Hilary McGrady, Director-General National Trust, Beccy Speight, Chief Executive of the RSPB and Tanya Steele, CEO of WWF, said

To find out more about how your company can take steps to help tackle nature’s decline, join Nature’s Workforce today at www.naturesworkforce.org.uk 

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,255 adults of which 1106 were working adults who are not self-employed. Fieldwork was undertaken between 2nd - 3rd May 2024. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+). 

[1] Three in every 100 UK businesses monitors nature and biodiversity risks. Source: ONS. 

[2] The UK is in the bottom 10% of countries globally for protecting nature. Source: Biodiversity Intactness Index, Natural History Museum. 

[3] Nearly one in six (16%) of more than ten thousand species assessed are threatened with extinction from Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales). Source: State of Nature report 2023. 

[4] More than half (55%) of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) is either moderately or highly dependent on nature. Source: PWC 

[5] Business Declares is a not for profit organisation formed by senior leaders who believe that business has a major part to play in tackling the climate, ecological and social emergency. 

Members include - Triodos Bank, Riverford, FT, Cafe Direct, Cook Foods, Brabners, Bates Wells.   

Note – Business Declares is offering to support this work at a network event sharing it with our network on 23rd May and through hosting ongoing action learning conversations between business representatives in July. 

[6] See Labour market overview, UK - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) and National population projections - Office for National Statistics